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New cable car boosts Munich 2018 Olympic bid

December 23 - Munich’s hopes of hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in 2018 have been lifted with the opening of a new 1.5 kilometre cable car service, capable of carrying up to 2,000 passengers per hour to the pistes of Garmisch-Partenkirchen – a key location for the Munich 2018 alpine events.

The €8 million (£7 million) Kandahar Express represents a significant enhancement of the region’s winter sports infrastructure and was partly funded by Federal and State Government, underscoring their support for the sports tourism industry and for hosting major events such as the Winter Games in 2018, officials claimed.

The news also gives a timely boost to Garmisch-Partenkirchen where the prestigious FIS World Ski Championships will be held in 2011.

The service was opened in style when German ski stars Christian Neureuther, Rosi Mittermaier and Martina Ertl-Renz became the first passengers.

Willy Bogner, the chief executive of Munich 2018, said: "The Kandahar Express is an important investment for the future.

"It further establishes Garmisch-Partenkirchen as a superb winter sports region, offering benefits for the 2011 FIS World Ski Championships, Munich’s bid for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in 2018 and tourism in the region.

"It also complements our aim to make the Games as spectator-friendly as possible."

The Kandahar Express gives easy access to the three kilometre long Kandahar slope, which will stage most of the races during the World Championships.

The re-built and modernised track was re-opened a year ago.

Munich are one of three cities bidding for the 2018 Olympics.

The others are Annecy and Pyeongchang.

The International Olympic Committee is due to announce its decision on July 6, 2011, at its Session in Durban.

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About the author

Duncan Mackay is the editor of insidethegames.biz. Awards include British Sports Writer of the Year in 2004, British News Story of the Year in 2004 and British Sports Internet Reporter of the Year in 2009. Mackay is one of Britain's best-connected journalists and during the 16 years he worked at The Guardian and The Observer he regularly broke a number of major exclusive stories, including the news that British sprinter Dwain Chambers had tested positive for banned performance enhancing drugs.

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Fact of the day

At the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Iranian judoka Arash Miresmaeili was disqualified for weighing in at nearly four pounds above the limit for his weight class of his under-66 kilograms match against an Israeli opponent Ehud Vaks in the first round. It was claimed Miresmaeili had gone on an eating binge to protest the International Olympic Committee's recognition of the state of Israel. Iran does not recognise the state of Israel, and Miresmaeili's actions won praise from high-ranking Iranian officials. Mohammad Khatami, the country's President at the time, was quoted as saying Miresmaili's actions would be "recorded in the history of Iranian glories". He was later awarded $125,000 by the Government - the same amount given to Olympic gold medallists.

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